Every Leader Shall Fall
by Tyson FoxFlame
Summary: They say every leader shall fall. The question is,why? From their own stupidity, that's why. Or that's how it is in my case. My name is Tai Kamiya. I have failed being a good leader. One mistake screws up a life,yet takes another.


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Hey all. This is my first real angst piece. Cause I'm in an angsty mood right now. I am Tai in this fic. Well, how I feel I mean. I don't try……….well, read it. But moving on, I hope you enjoy this. Now, I'm going to work on my other one-shot based on something else going on in my life. Enjoy!

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They say every leader shall fall. But the question is, why? Because of their own stupidity, that's why. Or at least in my case. My name is Tai Kamiya, and because of one stupid mistake, I could have put all of our lives in danger. When I say all, I mean 8 of us, including my little sister, and myself. But maybe I should tell you the whole story. But let me warn you right now, this isn't a tale of sunshine and butterflies. And it doesn't have a fluffy beginning and a "happily ever after" ending………….

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It was a normal day, like any other day. We were wandering around the Digital World aimlessly, enjoying our day. We weren't in a rush and there weren't any digimon to attack us. Or so we thought. 

"Tai, slow down!" I heard Sora yell from behind me. I turned around and just laughed. Being the hyper 12-year-old that I am, I tend to go far ahead of the others. Of course, they always tell me to slow down. But like I said, being me, I never slow down. Then again, it's just a way to relieve the stress of being a leader. It's harder then it looks. When you're the leader, people always believe that you know what's right and wrong. When you're the leader, people look up to you for advice. When you're the leader, people follow you, whether it's the right way or not. And I am no exception. They all do as I tell them. Except for Matt. He's the only one who questions my authority. It's odd. I fight with this guy around and around in circles, and for why? I have absolutely no idea. He hates me, yea I know that, but why, I'll never know. Anyway, so I glanced back and saw that the group was starting to slow down. I sighed and stopped. I turned around and faced them all.

"What's with the hold-up?" I asked impatiently. Matt rolled his eyes and stepped forward, with his little brother TK in his arms.

"The hold-up is, we're all tired, and we need to stop." He said bluntly. I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head.

"Just a bit further. Then we can stop and set up camp." I said, pointing to the woods in front of us. Izzy looked up from his laptop and widened his eyes.

"Are you sure about that, Tai? I mean, it looks sort of dangerous, don't you think?" he said warily. I snorted and smirked.

"Are you kidding? We'll be fine." I replied and started walking again. 

"But-" Izzy started to interrupt.

"But nothing. I'm the leader remember? Trust me." I said cockily. They all sighed and started to follow me again. We entered the woods, each with our digimon at our sides. I could feel Agumon's breath on my leg. Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I looked down and found my sister with her head buried against my leg. I raised my eyebrow and knelt down to her height.

"What's goin' on Kari?" I asked her, gently removing her from my leg.

"Tai, I don't wanna stay here. I'm scared." She said softly. I smiled slightly and picked her up.

"Don't worry about it." I replied and continued to walk. Sora and Biyomon came up beside me.

"I agree with her, Tai. It IS creepy in here." Sora said, looking around them.

"Yea, it's really dark and gross in here." Mimi whined as she untangled her ankle from a pile of twigs. 

"Will you all stop complaining? We'll be fine for one measly night." I snapped and marched to a clearing in the middle of the woods. I wouldn't admit it to any of them, but it WAS rather creepy in there. But, I was the leader. I'm not allowed to be afraid. I stopped in the center and put Kari down.

"Well, this is it. We'll stay here for the night." I announced to the group.

"But Tai, honestly, this is unreal. We can't stay here. We don't know what is in this area." Joe objected. 

"Will you all stop worrying?" I said to them all.

"TAI! SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO US!" Matt suddenly yelled at me. He placed TK on the ground and marched in front of me. I glared and got into my defensive mode.

"Listen to what? You all complain? I think not!" I shouted back. Matt grabbed me by the collar and looked me in the eye.

"You are such an idiot! Use your stupid brain for once in your life! You never worry about us!" He hissed. 

"Oh like you do!" I hissed back. Suddenly, there was a low rumbling sound. Matt and I stopped fighting and listened.

"What was that?" TK asked quietly, backing up towards my sister.

"I don't know." I replied. I looked around the area, scanning it carefully. It sounded off again.

"There it is again." Matt stated the obvious. I squinted my eyes and spotted a pile of leaves that started to quiver. I leaned in closer, when they blew up in my face. Arising from the leaves came a shadow, with red eyes, and fangs, grinning sadistically. 

"What is that!?!?" Mimi cried out, practically jumping into Joe's arms. I started to open my mouth, but all I could do was gap at the dumb thing. Izzy put his digivice into his laptop and analyzed the shadow dude. 

"His name is Yamiyoukaimon. And his attack is shadow vapor. MEGA???" Izzy suddenly cried. I blinked slowly and watched, as the demon began to speak.

"Well, Digi-destined, so pleasant of you to come. This way, I can destroy you in one go. Excellent, isn't it?" Yamiyoukaimon said as he vanished into thin air. 

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"Where'd he go?" Sora asked, turning her eyes in all directions. I wasn't too sure myself. 

"Ah, looking for me? How foolish can you be?" his voice echoed. Suddenly he appeared again, right behind Kari. 

"KARI!" I heard TK yell. And what did I do? I had frozen in my spot. I couldn't move, breathe, or think about what to do. 

"Shadow Vapor!" Yamiyoukaimon announced and struck his attack. My sister started screaming as this mass of fog came shooting towards her. I couldn't watch. So I closed my eyes. 

"Matt!" I heard the others yell. I snapped my eyes opened and looked. Right where Kari had been standing seconds ago, Matt was now laying, motionless and limp. Reality hit me like a punch. Because of my stupidity, one of my own teammates had been hurt. I shook my head, trying to convince myself that it didn't really happen. But it felt real, when Yamiyoukaimon's voice boomed again.

"Damn it!" he cursed. I growled and looked down at Agumon. 

"GO AGUMON!" I commanded him, causing him to digivolve into MetalGreymon. MetalGreymon roared and charged at Yamiyoukaimon, along with Lilymon, Angemon, Angewomon, Garudamon, WarIkkakumon, and MegaKabuterimon. Once all of them had attacked, it was easy to destroy Yamiyoukaimon. 

"This isn't the end, digi-brats!" He shouted as he dissolved into tiny bits of data. It was silent once again, until TK started sobbing.

"Matt!" we all turned back to our fallen comrade. Everybody ran back to him, while Joe felt his pulse. I held my breath, waiting for the results.

"He's alive, but barely." He told us grimly. I never felt so ashamed of myself in my life.

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So, that's what happened. That was a week ago. Matt's still pretty injured, mostly on his left side, which is where Yamiyoukaimon hit him. Joe said that he had a few broken ribs, and various sprains and strains in leg and arm. Apparently, Yamiyoukaimon's attack goes through your body and takes apart your data, or in a human's case, breaks all the bones and kills you. I can still remember everything that was said once we got Matt back to safety_. _

"Look at what you did Tai." Mimi accused me.

"Because you didn't think things through, your sister could have been killed. And because you didn't do anything about it, Matt is paying the price." Izzy reasoned with me. 

"Don't you ever think about the consequences of anything?" Sora yelled at me. TK sniffled and interrupted their 'let's trash Tai time.' 

"Is Matt going to be ok?" he asked softly.

"Yea, no thanks to Tai." Mimi snorted. 

"Hey, leave him alone. He tried!" Kari defended me.

"If he had just listened to us about that place being bad, this wouldn't have happened!" Joe sighed.

"Guys, I-I'm sorry." I stuttered, afraid and upset about everything.

"You should be." Izzy said absently. I bit my lip and shook my head.

"I didn't mean to. I was just trying to be a good leader." I said quietly.

"Well, that backfired, now didn't it?" Joe said gravely. 

"I-"

"You know what, Tai? You don't deserve to be leader of this team." Sora said icily in my face. I blinked back the tears that were welling up in my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Too late for that, isn't it?" Mimi replied. Then they all turned and headed back to check on Matt.

Which is why I'm out here tonight, with only the stars to witness the last few breathing moments. I can't even face myself or bear my stupidity anymore. Everyday, I have to watch Matt struggle to heal. And it's my fault.

"All my fault. My own foolishness. My own fault." I whispered to no one in particular. I stepped out further, reaching a cliff at the edge of the campsite. Far enough not to be seen, but close enough to be noticed the next day. I gently pulled off my headband and goggles, laying them on the ground. I took in a deep breath, and stepped forward. 

"Tai? What do you think you're doing?" a voice stopped me. I closed my eyes, thinking I was imagining things. That I was imagining that Matt had called out to me as though he were worried. But that couldn't be possible, could it? After all, Matt can barely walk, must less care about me. 

"Tai, I'm serious. What are you doing?" I turned around and opened my eyes.

"You can walk." I said in awe.

"Yea, sort of. Joe says I need some rehab, ya know?" Matt shrugged his good shoulder. I nodded and turned to fully face him. 

"So what brings you out here?" I asked him softly.

"I should be asking you the same thing." He raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. In the pale moonlight, I could see he was trying to hide his pain.

"Just, fixing my mistake." I said, my eyes wandering over Matt. No, I wasn't checking him out. Just, examining the damage I had placed upon him. Scars blemished his god-like body, and there was still some dried blood in his golden hair. I felt chills go up my spine. 

"What are you talking about?" Matt asked skeptically. I looked back to the edge, and then to Matt. 

"Just, remove myself from the picture. Let someone else take over, ya know?" I said monotonously. 

"Tai, that's not necessary." Matt started off.

"Tell that to the rest of them. They're all right. I don't deserve to be the leader."

"So you made one mistake, Tai. Big deal. It's ok. Everybody makes mistakes." Matt tried saying.

"I could have killed Kari. Or You. Leaders aren't allowed to make mistakes like those. Leaders can't be rash. Leaders can't be like me." I replied. 

"Tai, you can't do this." Matt warned me. I shrugged and looked up to the stars. They twinkled brightly and danced around, except for one. That one was isolated by itself, away from the other stars. It started to flicker, and then it went out. The star was me. I could just tell. I looked back to Matt, with my back towards the cliff. Locking my gaze with his, I started to walk backwards.

"Tai, stop! Don't move anymore!" Matt yelled. I shook my head and reached the end.

"Every leader shall fall. And every spirit shall rise." I said calmly. And with that said, I took that one last step over, and fell from the edge.

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KTF: OMG YOU KILLED TAI!

I know! I feel bad now!!!!! Hey, maybe I'll write a sequel…….what do you all think? I have the best idea for one too! Let me know though. In the meantime, reviews are welcome! If I do a sequel, it might or not be Taito. I live in a world of Taito. But maybe not. Let me know. Well, the first time I wrote non-humor. Dude….oh well. Cya later peepz!


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